Plain woods, such as mahogany, walnut, or amaranth, are often used for the frames, but far more universal is the use of wood carved and gilded, or carved and painted according to fancy. Some mahogany and rosewood arm-chairs are brightened by the application of chased and gilded bronze ornaments. The upholsterers of the day furnished the chairs with round, flattened or half round cushions. The projection of the back cushion was regulated by the material with which it was covered, so that the latter should be exhibited to its best advantage. Many arm-chairs had removable cushions that fit into the frame of the chair. The cushions were sometimes tufted.
The old damask of the past used for furniture coverings now gave place to figured and embroidered satin, the designs representing birds, vases full of flowers, Cupids, quivers smothered with garlands of flowers, a bouquet held by a bunch of ribbon, and, finally, stripes. The tones were light: two colours, one of which in two or three shades, were often employed, the favourites being pale blue, rose, yellow, lilac and grey. The manufactories of the Gobelins, of Beauvais and Aubusson produced the same designs and pictures in their tapestries which were in great vogue for chairs and sofas. Garlands, shepherds and shepherdesses, subjects from Boucher and Fragonard and trophies were reproduced most exquisitely upon light backgrounds. Persian, Chinese and Polish subjects witness how the decorators tried to study the designs of foreign and Oriental countries. The stamped velvets of Utrecht had smaller patterns and very frequently were striped. Braids were of innumerable varieties, and tassels and ball-fringe were universally used for trimmings. Arm-chairs were ornamented also with festoons of drapery, and were called _fauteuils à la polonaise_, _à la turque_, _à la chinoise_, and in all probability matched the beds and sofas of these names. Radel, De Lalonde, Salembier, and others give many designs of the draped arm-chair. Typical chairs are represented on Plates XLVI. and XLVIII. The arm-chairs on Plate XLVI. are by De Lalonde. Nos. 2 and 3 are drawings of the same chair, No. 2, showing the correct projection of the cushion of the back, which was a subject of so much study. No. 5 is a “_voyelle_,” also by De Lalonde. The plan of its seat appears as No. 4. No. 2 on Plate XLVIII. is an arm-chair of walnut and gold. The arm-chairs for the desk were made of mahogany, or painted wood. They were of the gondola form, and were supplied with cushions for the back and seat, which were not unfrequently of cane. The third foot placed directly in front now seems to have been given up. The _fauteuil bergère_ still belongs to the drawing-room, but its lines are straighter than its parent (see Plate XXXVI., No. 1), and the elbow is more aggressive. A typical Louis XVI. _fauteuil bergère_ is shown in No. 3 on Plate XLVIII. This is also called _fauteuil confessional_. In this reign the cushions of seat and back are often stuffed with hair instead of feathers, and tufted. Like the specimen on Plate XXXVI., this _fauteuil bergère_ is often supplied with a separate cushion for the seat, covered like the rest of the chair.